What to Expect

Power drills, hammers and duct tape might become your best friends in a technical theater program. Students learn behind-the-scenes stuff like lighting, props and set design.

Scott Martin took technical theater at a university. He says some of the absolute necessities each student must have are steel-toed work boots, a drafting kit, costuming kit and tools, such as a crescent wrench, cordless drills, and of course, the indispensable duct tape roll.

He says students in his program have the option of what they want to learn. "You can either take specialized courses or get a good overall general education," he says.

"The first year was really hard. There was a lot of homework. I think it was to try and get rid of the people who weren't really serious. It got a lot easier second and third year."

A typical day for Martin included classes starting at 8 or 9 a.m., running straight through until 5 or 6 p.m. Then it was time for homework.

How to Prepare

Martin recommends that students in high school take physics because it helps with understanding optics and electricity. He also recommends having some computer background.

"We learn CAD, but it sure helped me already having a good computer base. Also, make sure you know a word processing program because all of your papers have to be typewritten."

Martin recommends getting your feet wet in theater long before you start into a full-time course. "Volunteer at all your high school theater presentations. It will give you a good edge and looks good on your resume."

Megan Lantzy majored in fine arts but took technical theater courses at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. "Take design, art courses, painting, drafting and any kind of shop courses you can," she advises. "It's a very hands-on job."